Brewers win World Series opener 3–2 after replay keeps Rays alive

The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series opener 3–2 on Friday, October 23, after a replay review turned an apparent game-ending double play into another chance for the Tampa Bay Rays to take the lead. One out was overturned; the other survived. That distinction left two runners on base before Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca to finish the game. USA TODAY’s replay account describes the interrupted celebration.

Milwaukee took a 1–0 series lead with its first World Series victory since 1982, according to MLB’s game story.

The ninth-inning threat developed quickly. With one out and Milwaukee ahead 3–1, Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson singled. Jorge Mateo replaced Aranda as a runner. Mateo and Simpson then executed a double steal, reaching third and second, before Junior Caminero walked to fill all three bases. The sequence is recorded in MLB’s official play-by-play.

Liam Hicks hit a grounder to second baseman Brice Turang. The ball went to shortstop Cooper Pratt at second, then to Jake Bauers at first. The two out calls appeared to have ended Tampa Bay’s inning—and the game.

The critical detail was Pratt’s contact with second base. Caminero had to advance from first because Hicks was running there. Milwaukee could therefore retire Caminero by having a fielder holding the ball touch second before he arrived: a force out, requiring no tag of the runner. But the base still had to be touched. USA TODAY’s Jace Evans reported that review found Pratt had failed to keep his foot on the bag.

The out at first was a separate decision. MLB’s record explicitly lists the second-base ruling as overturned and the first-base ruling as upheld. Hicks remained out, while Caminero was safe. Instead of completing the inning’s second and third outs, Milwaukee had recorded only its second.

MLB’s replay guidance allows officials to restore the situation a correct call would have produced.

The resulting change was substantial:

Before Hicks’s grounder: Milwaukee leads 3–1; one out

             SECOND
             Simpson
            /       \
      THIRD           FIRST
      Mateo           Caminero
            \       /
               HOME
          Hicks batting

After review: Milwaukee leads 3–2; two outs

             SECOND
             Caminero
            /       \
      THIRD           FIRST
      Simpson         Empty
            \       /
               HOME
          Mateo has scored

Runner positions and score: MLB’s official play-by-play. Hicks’s out at first stood.

Simpson now represented the tying run at third; Caminero represented the go-ahead run at second. The correction had both narrowed Milwaukee’s lead and preserved Tampa Bay’s opportunity to move ahead. DeLuca got an at-bat with the outcome still unsettled. Megill struck him out swinging, leaving both runners stranded.

Milwaukee’s earlier scoring explains why it could withstand Mateo’s run. Christian Yelich tripled home Jackson Chourio in the first inning, and William Contreras singled Yelich home for a 2–0 lead. Tampa Bay answered with a run on Hicks’s fourth-inning groundout. Chourio’s seventh-inning single then brought Pratt home to make it 3–1—the extra run Milwaukee carried into the ninth. MLB’s scoring highlights document those plays.

Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski supplied five innings of one-run pitching. His opening pitch registered 103.5 mph, which MLB identified as a World Series record in the pitch-tracking era. Behind him, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined for three scoreless innings, striking out five without a walk, according to the official box score. That left Megill protecting a two-run advantage for the final inning.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night, October 24, at Milwaukee’s American Family Field. MLB’s schedule lists Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen and Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson as the probable starting pitchers.